Kingdom Hearts III: The Truth
by MystiMess
Summary: This is my version of Kingdom Hearts 3, without Dream Drop Distance or Re:Coded. King Mickey needs Riku, Sora and Kairi to lock the worlds completely and destroy Maleficent who is bent on controlling the Heartless once again. Throughout this, Kairi needs to decide if she wants to be queen of Hollow Bastion. And Riku needs to decide if he should come out with his feelings for Sora.
1. Destiny Islands

"_I thought that you had finally come back."_

"_But when you were back, it was like you were still gone."_

The wind was a mere breeze outside. You could see the palm trees rustle a bit, but it was common for island weather – especially this island. Here, it was like everything was peaceful and tranquil. There were very few storms, and the last one, a year ago, was caused by the darkness that had destroyed many worlds and caused many people to lose their hearts. But amongst all this chaos stood a boy and some friends of his who stopped the ultimate goal of the darkness. They helped restore all the worlds to what they originally were, and saved many people's hearts. This boy was Sora.

"I'm gonna' head in guys," said a girl in a small pink dress. She got up from sitting on the sand, brushing some of it that had gotten on her off. She picked up her shoes, before waving and walking away, shoes in hand, from her two best friends.

The two boys looked on after her. One had long silver hair and crazy aquamarine eyes; he merely nodded as she left, acknowledging her. The other had brown spiky hair that defied gravity and had simple blue eyes; he waved and grinned widely as the girl left.

"See ya' tomorrow, Kairi!" he yelled, watching her a bit longer than the silver haired had, before turning so he could face what they had all been looking at.

"Why does it feel like it's so hard to go back there?" the spikey haired boy asked, looking longingly at the island. He and his friends had always played at that island, for many years, though it had been over a year since they last had. And in that time, they had all grown up and had all had way too many experiences for kids their age.

"I don't know, Sora," his friend answered, looking at the island as well. For him, it was the past – a past he had destroyed, and looking at it made him sick. It reminded him of the terrible thing that he had done to his best friend.

"But Riku, I wanna' go back! We haven't been to the island since we came back to Destiny Islands. Don't you miss it at all?"

"Then go back," he said simply, his voice stoic and calm. Riku had always been the more controlled one, while Sora had always been the loud, hyperactive one. "Nothing is stopping you but yourself, Sora."

"But…" he looked over at Riku with almost a whining, yet pitiful face. Sora didn't want to go back unless it was with his friends - that's the way it was supposed to be in his eyes. All of them together again – what had he been fighting for, for so long? It had been all so he and his friends could be home again. Kairi had been home for a while, and had, in her words, come back to get them, since him and Riku had taken a long time. And so now that they were back, why did it feel so…different?

"Sora, it's not going to be like it was – you know that. We can't just erase everything that's happened-"

"I never said I wanted to erase everything that's happened Riku, but I just want…"

Sora didn't know how to finish that sentence, and when Riku looked over at him again, it wasn't hard for him to tell. Sora had always had a very readable face. When he was happy, he grinned like an idiot. When he was pouting, his lips would purse. When he was angry, he would make it obvious and complain about whatever made him angry. And whenever the kid was in a whiney mood, it seemed to always be reserved for Riku.

"You almost miss being in other worlds, don't you?" Riku asked, although it was more like a statement than a question. "Even though this is home, we've seen so many other places, that this place has somehow become boring. Our lives took a sudden turn, and we were put into situations we wouldn't normally be put into. I don't know about you, but I got really used to it. And now being here, it's just…"

"Weird," Sora said, finishing for him. Sora felt the exact same way Riku felt. He loved the islands – they were his home, after all. But, Sora actually missed fighting Heartless and Nobodies every day. It grew tiring, but he was just so used to it – and it really did become fun for him. Plus, Sora had made a number of friends, and the idea that he wouldn't be seeing them anymore…it didn't exactly appeal to him. He missed them, of course.

"Exactly."

The two best friends sat in a comfortable silence, staring at the island that had entertained them both so much when they were kids. Looking at it reminded them both of something, but then also of different things. The island represented their childhood and all the little adventures they would have together. And when Kairi came to the islands, it was even more fun – for one of them, at least. That small little island was where they would hang out; it was _their_ spot. Of course, there were others would join them, like Waka, Tidus and Selphie, but no one could compare when it came to Sora, Riku and Kairi. They were best friends, always have been and always would be.

"Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?" Riku crossed his arms behind his head as he laid down on the sand.

"You think we'll ever see them again? King Mickey? And Donald and Goofy?"

Riku glanced at him, before looking up at the sky. "I don't know," he replied calmly. In all honesty, Riku was pretty confident that if they did see them again, it wouldn't be for a while. Riku didn't want to get Sora's hopes up, but then he didn't want to see Sora depressed, either. The kid wasn't himself when he was depressed or sad – Hell, it made the whole island sad when Sora was in a slump. Sora was everyone's light, especially Riku's. Without Sora, Riku fell into darkness and didn't want to get out of it. But when he saw Sora, and when Sora was with him, it made Riku want to fight against the darkness, just so he could be with Sora.

_"How long has it been, I wonder…"_ Riku thought to himself, looking up at the sky. He let his gaze drift lazily to his best friend and a small smile touched his lips. Sora was merely looking at the island, before a soft sigh escaped from his lips, and he lied down like Riku. Riku's gaze once again went towards the sky.

"Do you ever just wanna' leave?" Sora asked.

"All the time." Riku saw no point to the islands anymore. The only reason why he didn't care so much was because Sora was there; wherever Sora was, Riku would be there. Even if Riku had to go through hell and back, he'd find a way to be with Sora.

"I think I do too." Sora almost felt guilty for no longer wanting to be on the islands, but what could he do? It was truly boring; it was no wonder why they had wanted to leave. But it was still home…and Sora had been fighting for so long just to come back. And now he wanted to leave? He didn't entirely understand it.

"It's a complicated feeling, isn't it?" Riku once again made the question seem more like a statement.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "I've missed home so much, but…we've been back for two weeks now. I've seen everyone I've missed, I've seen the islands…I feel like I'm just waiting for another adventure to come around and we'll be the ones who have to save the day again. But what if that adventure never comes?"

Riku was staring at Sora again, looking into his eyes. He knew Sora liked being the hero and liked 'saving the day,' but was that really so realistic? They were all lucky to have come out alive, and there were a number of situations where him and Sora, and even Kairi, really could have – or even should have – died. But they obviously hadn't. Though Riku did want to leave the islands and maybe have some fun fighting again, he'd rather have a boring life with nothing to do than to put Sora in danger again. It nearly killed them both the first time, and Riku wouldn't dare do it a second time.

Sora sighed again. "I'm gonna' head in," he said, slowly getting up. "It's getting late, and mom will be worried I won't show up again."

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, it would suck if you got swallowed up into another adventure."

Sora rolled his eyes, before laughing. "You know how my mom is," he said, standing now and looking down at Riku.

Riku knew Sora was expecting them to walk home together, since they lived across from each other. But this time, Riku wanted to stay out a little longer.

"I'm gonna' stay a bit longer," he told Sora, looking up at the sky still. For whatever reason, Riku hated to watch Sora walking away from him.

"Oh," Sora sounded almost disappointed. "Well alright! See ya' tomorrow, Riku," he said, before making his way back home.

Riku was the one to sigh this time, once he knew Sora was out of range. His mind kept bombarding him with useless thoughts and ideas. He glared up at the sky, wishing his thoughts would disappear.

It was the next day, and it was only Sora and Riku out. Kairi would apparently be joining them later; she had to do some things with the mayor. Sora felt a little disappointed, since he always preferred it with the three of them always together, but he never minded him and Riku getting some guy time. As for Riku, he always wanted it to be him and Sora. He used to hate Kairi when they were younger, for stealing Sora's attention, but he grew to put up with her and eventually he considered her a friend.

"So what should we do today?" Sora asked, looking at Riku as he crossed his arms behind his head – a habit he's had since he was little.

"Don't know. What do we do every day?" Riku yawned, still a bit tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, due to that he had stayed up most of the night staring up at the sky, on the beach.

Sora sighed. "Usually just walk around and stare at the island." Sora wanted something to happen! He wanted something to happen right now! But at the same time, he didn't want the worlds to be in danger once again, but what else would cause them to have some epic adventure?

Just then, Riku's brows furrowed, before his eyes focused on something that seemed to be coming from the sky. At first it looked like it was falling, but then it was taking a direct turn towards him and Sora. And the closer it got, the surer Riku was of what it was. Soon his eyes widened, and he almost felt like he couldn't speak for a moment. Him and Sora had been wanting to get off the island – and it looked like they might be able to.

"Sora, you might just get your wish," Riku said, his voice sounding slightly of shock, but also amusement.

"What do you mean?" Sora looked at him confused.

"Look," Riku said, pointing up in the sky towards something that most worlds would never understand. In fact, unless you had seen one before, you would never know what it was.

Sora looked at Riku, confused for a moment, before following the direction of his finger, before his eyes widened at what he saw. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

"A gummi ship?" Sora looked at it surprised, shocked even at what had come out of his mouth. It couldn't be real, could it? Was someone playing a joke on him?

"That's what it appears to be," Riku said simply, his thoughts similar to Sora's. No way this was real.

But it had to be. There was the gummi ship Sora had flown in so many times with Donald, Goofy and Jiminy. Sora could recognize that thing a mile away! It couldn't be anything else.

They watched as it started to slow down, and finally land – on the island. The gummi ship landed on the island that Sora and his friends had been staring at for two weeks. But in that moment, how could it matter? Riku and Sora immediately ran to get a boat, and quickly rowed it to the back of the island. Once they got there, Sora slipped trying to get out – half because he was excited, and half because he was just clumsy. Riku got out easily of course, and calmly walked over to the other side of the island, while Sora ran. Sora couldn't contain his excitement. Even if it was just one of his old friends he would see, at least it was one of them. He had missed them all so much!

Sora got there before Riku, and when he finally got to the gummi ship, he saw three very familiar friends come out. He couldn't contain his joy and excitement, practically bouncing all the way towards them.

"Donald! Goofy! King Mickey!" he shouted. Before they all even had a chance to look over at Sora, he tackled them all, making them all fall over each other.

"Sora!" Donald complained in his scratchy, near understandable voice.

"Sora!" Goofy said excitedly, as well as laughed his goofy laugh.

"Whoah, Sora!" the king exclaimed, before he smiled at seeing everyone together and happy again.

"Hey, you guys leaving me out?" Riku's voice was prominent and clear over everyone's laughter. And they all stopped to stare over at his form walking toward them, a smirk present on his face. "If I had known Sora was gonna' hog you all, I wouldn't have bothered coming."

King Mickey was the first to get up and go over to Riku. He smiled up at the male, before jumping up to his chest and giving Riku a hug. The other two slowly got up as well, and more so gave Riku a 'dude' hug. Even though this adventure had been long, Goofy and Donald really didn't know much about Riku, other than that he was Sora's friend. It was all the same for Riku, though. He had only said that to remind Sora that he was still there, as well as say 'hello' to the king, since he had formed a friendship with the mouse. After all, King Mickey had been his companion for much of the time that Sora was asleep.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked them, walking over to his four friends. Of course he was excited to see them, but he couldn't help but to wonder why they were on the island in the first place.

"Do you remember the letter?" the king asked, jumping down from Riku's chest.

Riku merely nodded. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!" Sora said, before grinning with an embarrassed look on his face. He couldn't believe he had actually forgotten about that.

The king sighed, shaking his head but with a smile on his face. "Well, like I had put, there's a chance that the worlds would need you once again. And now they do."

"So we get to go on another adventure?" Sora asked, excitement incredibly obvious in his voice.

King Mickey merely nodded.

"What's it about this time?" Riku asked. If Sora was going to put himself danger, it would make Riku very cautious about them going on this adventure. He knew Sora wanted to leave as much as he did, but he wouldn't risk Sora's life – not again.

"Well, there's someone that you hadn't defeated yet-"

"I thought we killed all the Organization members," Sora said, interrupting the king.

"Sora!" Donald yet at him, giving him the 'look'.

"Sorry," Sora said, covering his mouth with his hand.

King Mickey sighed. "Yes, you did. The Nobodies and all the Organization seem to be completely gone, so you shouldn't have to worry about them anymore."

_What a relief_, Sora thought to himself.

"However, there is still another enemy. The Heartless are still lurking around, and though they haven't gone to every world yet, we know it is their goal."

"Who is running them this time?" Riku asked.

"Think about it, Riku," the king told him, looking directly into his eyes. "Who else is capable enough to use them?"

It hit Riku then. "Maleficent," he said, his voice calm as ever. But his eyes were clouded.

"Maleficent!" Sora said, his voice sounded with a bit of shock. But when he thought about it, it made sense. They hadn't even fought Maleficent last time, so of course she was still somewhere around kicking. She had her fanatical dream about ruling the Heartless and all that mumbo-jumbo. Sora of course didn't get it, but that didn't matter to him. Maleficent had to be stopped, and he wanted to help.

"When do leave?" Sora asked, excitement obvious in his eyes.

The king laughed this time. "Why in such a hurry?"

"He's been dying to get off the island," Riku answered for Sora. "It's a bit…boring here, to say the least."

"Ah," King Mickey said, nodding his head. "Well, we can depart tomorrow morning. We'll need to debrief you on some things, as well as fuel up the ship. Also, I'm sure you'll want to see goodbye to your families and such."

"Sounds good to me!" Sora was just so excited he couldn't contain it.

Riku sighed, though grinning at his best friend. "What else do you need to tell us?"

"Well…" the king looked down. This was going to be a tough journey, for more reasons than one, and the king hated to depend on the two friends so much, but they were the only ones who could do it. "You guys need to permanently lock all the worlds."

"What?" Sora looked straight at King Mickey. _Permanently?_ He thought to himself. _Wouldn't that mean never seeing anyone again?_

"The only way to stop the Heartless is to lock all the worlds. But there's a true lock, one that is impossible to break. And one that can only be locked and unlocked by your keyblade, Sora. The worlds haven't been truly locked in a long time, but Master Yen Sid and I have realized that if we want the worlds to truly be at peace again, we have to truly lock them all. Heartless will never be able to get in, but neither will anyone else."

"We need you to go to all the worlds that are still unlocked, destroy all the Heartless and then truly lock them. Once that happens, because you are not from that world, you will be dispelled and lifted out of there. And-"

"And after that, we can never see them again…" The thought of never seeing his old friends again terrified Sora. He didn't like it at all. He'd rather fight Heartless for the rest of his life than to never see old friends again. But at the same time, he wanted those friends to be safe. And if they way to do that would be to never see them again…he would have to do it.

"You actually would be able to see them again Sora, because of your key, but it wouldn't be something you could do every day. Maybe once every year, if that."

That was good enough for Sora. "We'll do it!"

"Wait Sora," Riku told him, looking at him. "There's more to this," he looked to the king. "Isn't there?"

"So sharp, Riku," King Mickey said, a small smile on his face. "Yes, there is more. Your friend Kairi is a Princess of Heart, and being a Princess of Heart means that she is pure – and that she can rule." Sora's eyebrows crinkled with confusion. "Kairi is originally from a world called Radiant Gardens. Around when Xehanort posing as Ansem took over, the world transformed into now what is known as Hollow Bastion. Kairi's heart, even though Radiant Gardens has changed much, will recognize its true home, and therefore her heart could possibly make her stay there. And Hollow Bastion is in need of a queen…"

"Wait a second, you're saying that…Kairi won't be able to live here anymore?!" This was a shock to Sora. He knew Kairi was from a different world, but the islands were home now, so how could her heart want somewhere else?

"She can if she so chooses," King Mickey told Sora. "A person can live wherever they so choose, but you guys are bored here, correct?" Sora and Riku slowly nodded their heads. "All three of you could live in Hollow Bastion." Sora's eyes widened. "And Sora, remember Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Merlin and everyone else? There still there, Sora."

The king was absolutely playing on Sora's weakness – his friends. But it was a decision he, Donald, Goofy and everyone from Hollow Bastion had made. They would do whatever they could to have the three keybearers live in Hollow Bastion. Kairi would be the queen, and Sora and Riku would be the knights. And in that way, everyone wouldn't have to miss Sora as much.

Sora was having a tough time with this. Leave the islands for Hallow Bastion? He would almost never see his mother again, and he had missed her during his previous adventures – though he would never admit it. And what about Riku and Kairi? They would miss their families too. And yet…Sora found himself not feeling truly home anymore at Destiny Islands. Maybe…maybe they should go to Hollow Bastion.

"We would have to ask Kairi," Riku said, thinking about it. He knew Sora would ultimately choose Hollow Bastion, and Riku would follow him. Sure he'd miss his dad and other relatives, but Sora meant everything to him; he wouldn't live without his light.

"Of course," the king said, agreeing. "Where can we speak with her?"

"She's with the mayor right now," Sora said, his hands going behind his head and crossing. "But we're supposed to meet up with her in a bit."

"Then we will wait."

They met up with Kairi a little after noon on the beach, back on the main island. She was surprised to see the king, Donald and Goofy, but nonetheless, she was glad to see everyone happy and together.

"Hey Kairi, the king wants to talk to you about something," Sora said to her, his voice a little nervous. He knew how Kairi felt about the islands, how much she loved it, but maybe she wanted to leave too?

And so, King Mickey told Kairi everything that he had told Sora and Riku. He told her about the true keyholes, about Radiant Gardens and how she was from there, how they wanted her to be the queen and how Riku and Sora had agreed to stay there with her.

"Me? Be…queen?" Something like that shocked Kairi beyond belief. She was a kind-hearted person, but she didn't even know Sora's friends. Kairi was sure she could get along with them and everything, but what if Hollow Bastion didn't feel like home to her? She had been at the islands for so long…how could anything else be home to her? "Can I think about it?" she asked the king.

He merely smiled. "Of course. It would shock me if you agreed so soon. We can take you there and show you around."

Kairi smiled at the mouse. "That would be great."

"Oh! One more thing I forgot to mention to you guys," the king said, and everyone listened. "I believe Riku knows this, but Kairi can also wield a keyblade."

"I knew that," Sora said. "She was using one in the World that Never Was."

"Sora, I don't think you get it," Riku said. He could probably put it in simpler terms for Sora. "Not every person can wield one. When I gave Kairi Destiny's Embrace, I wasn't even sure if she could actually wield it because you have to be a wielder to use it, but she did."

"So…Kairi is like us?" he asked Riku, his eyes widening.

Riku nodded his head. "Kairi can wield a keyblade for the same reasons that Riku can," King Mickey began to speak again. "When you two were little, you touched a person's keyblade, did you not?"

Riku's eyebrows furrowed, before he remembered a time when he and Sora were playing when they were little. There was a man with brown hair, and he had a keyblade – and the man had told Riku to hold onto it for a moment, and Riku had.

"I remember," Riku said suddenly, his brows still furrowed. "I can't believe I had forgotten about that. His name was…was…"

"Terra," the king said for him.

Riku's eyes widened. "Yeah, Terra. How did…?"

"I knew Terra a long time ago."

"What happened to him?"

"That's…something you will learn for yourself, in time."

"I don't remember touching anyone's keyblade when I was younger," Kairi said, her voice quiet. She was trying to remember, but she just couldn't remember it.

"Probably because it was back when you were in Radiant Gardens," King Mickey told her. "You don't hold many memories from your old world, right?"

She shook her head. "Right. I only vaguely remember my grandmother."

"Well Kairi, maybe a bit before you came here, to Destiny Islands, a woman named Aqua protected you, and you had grabbed onto her keyblade."

"Oh," Kairi said, her turn to have the wide eyes now.

"Then why can I wield one?" Sora asked the king. "If you're saying they touched a keyblade when they were younger, then how did it happen for me?"

"That's…not something I can explain yet, Sora. It will come in time."

"Oh…" he complained, crossing his arms behind his head. "Why do I always get left out?"

Everyone couldn't help but to laugh out at Sora then.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Everyone still laughed. "You guys are mean."

That night, Riku and Sora were still out. Only now, they were on their island – the one that had been so hard to go to. They had all spoken to their parents about leaving the next morning, although they hadn't talked to them about possibly permanently moving. Kairi was still unsure, and they didn't want to douse their parents moods even more by saying something that might not even happen. So, they merely told their parents that they would be going on another adventure, and they would be back.

Riku and Sora were sitting on their favorite tree on the even smaller island a couple of feet away from their island. They were looking out into the sunset, not uttering a single word. What could they really say? Riku knew what he wanted to tell Sora, but he didn't know if he could at this point. The mood was right, even the setting was right…but Riku couldn't do it. Riku couldn't tell his best friend that he was in love with him, and had been since they were little. Of course, when they were younger, Riku hadn't realized what it was. But as they grew older, and hormones started rolling in, Riku understood more and more his feelings for Sora.

As for Sora, he just wanted to appreciate this sunset. This would possibly be their last night in Destiny Islands, and he wanted to remember every single detail. How the sun looked, how the sky was orangey, how the ocean was a mixture of pink, purple and blue and how the sand looked orange as well. He looked up, seeing the paopu fuit from the tree. He grinned; he even wanted to remember the tale about the paupu fruit. He wanted to remember that when two people share it, their destinies become intertwined. It had always been something he found romantic, although he never talked about it because he knew Riku would tease him for it.

"I'm gonna' miss this," Sora said, looking back to the sunset.

"Me too," Riku said softly. Even if it was boring, the place was still their home. It was where they were born, where they grew up and where they had been dying to be for over a year.

"But…I really hope that Kairi chooses to stay in Hollow Bastion." Sora knew by now that he wanted to stay in Hollow Bastion with all his friends.

"I think I do too," Riku said, nodding. He had been in Hollow Bastion a short time, but if Sora wanted to be there, that's where Riku would be.

Sora grinned, before getting off of the tree. "Come on Riku," Sora said, holding his hand out for his best friend to take. "Let's go in."

Riku was stunned for a moment, before he grinned and took his best friend's hand. He would cherish those few seconds where he and Sora held hands, before he had to let go – for fear of his friend finding out his true feelings.

"Jeez Sora, how long did you want to hold my hand?" Riku teased, smirking at the younger boy.

Sora's cheeks turned reddish. "H-Hey, you were the one who wasn't letting go!"

"Uh-huh, sure Sora," he said, chuckling.

Riku walked faster than Sora, and Sora then had to catch up because he had stopped when he got embarrassed from Riku's comment. "Hey, wait up!" And Sora started running to Riku.

He stopped, grinning, before looking back at Sora as he waited for him to catch up. _I'll always wait for you_, Riku thought, almost wishing that Sora could read his thoughts. But at the same time, he was pretty sure that he would keep his feelings a secret from Sora – forever.


	2. Hollow Bastion

The three went off in the gummi ship with the king, while Donald and Goofy stayed behind in Destiny Islands in case the Heartless decided to attack. The three friends said goodbye to their parents and friends, and then were off. Sora drove the gummi ship, and the only reason the king let him was because Sora kept nagging about it and whining about how much he missed it.

"Just let him do it," Riku had said, his voice sounded with annoyance. "He'll never shut up unless he gets to."

So the king had complied and let Sora do it. For the most part, Sora drove well. But he was Sora, and he wanted to show off in front of his friends. As far as he knew, Riku had never actually been in a gummi ship, and he knew Kairi hadn't. So he wanted to look cool in front of his best friends. Needless to say, that didn't work out, especially when the king had to remind Sora that they had a mission and he needed to stop messing around. After their little talk, Sora had stopped goofing off, and they were soon in Hollow Bastion.

* * *

"So this is Hollow Bastion, huh?" Kairi said as they walked around for a bit.

The group was on their way to Merlin's house, since they assumed that's where everyone would be. And if not, at least Merlin should be there so he could explain to Sora more about the 'true keyholes'.

"Yeah," Sora replied, crossing his arms behind his head. "It's cool, huh?" He looked back at Kairi, grinning ear to ear.

She couldn't help but to smile back at him. He was Sora after all. "It's definitely interesting."

"I promise, Kairi. You're gonna' love it! They just have more adjustments to do." Sora wanted Kairi to like it here as much as he had every time he visited the world. Maybe his friends would convince her.

"From what Leon told me, they're trying to make it look like it did before," the king announced. "Many of the people who live here also lived in Radiant Garden, and so a lot of them remember how it used to look."

"Really?" Sora asked, his eyes looking down to the king. "Did it really look that different?"

"Yes and no," King Mickey answered. "Many of the buildings and areas are exactly the same, but Radiant Gardens was cleaner and somehow _lighter_. Whereas Hollow Bastion seems to be permanently stained by darkness."

"Makes sense," Riku said, nodding his head. Darkness had taken over the world some time ago, so it was natural that the world had a dark edge to it, even if it was in the direction of light. They would definitely have a tough time making the world what it once was.

It didn't take much longer for the group to reach Merlin's house. It was a small, yet cozy little home, and it served its purpose. Sora couldn't help but to grin as he saw it. Hell, just being in Hollow Bastion made it impossible for him to stop smiling. He truly loved this world – primarily because of his friends that were still here.

And since Sora was Sora, he saw no need in knocking on the door like most _normal_ people would do. Instead, he decided to barge in and make it clear that he was here.

"Sora," Donald scolded him.

"That's Sora, for you," Riku said, shaking his head as he chuckled. Nonetheless, the group followed Sora into the home, coming face to face with three people, and the fourth was sitting at the computer.

"Sora!" Yuffie yelled with excitement at seeing her friend. Immediately she jumped over to him and gave him a bear hug, before noticing everyone else as well. "Oh," she said, eyeing the new people, as well as seeing the others she knew.

"That was quicker than I thought it would take," Leon said in his usual monotonous voice.

"It wasn't too hard to convince them to come," the king said, a grin on his face.

"It's great to see you, Sora," Aerith said, her soft voice floated to Sora's ears.

"It's great to see you too, Aerith-"

"Hey look, it's Sora!" Cid seemed to finally realize the group that had barged into the small house.

Sora grinned. "Hey Cid!"

"Perhaps introductions are in order?" Aerith spoke once more.

The idea seemed to make sense to everyone, so all the ones who didn't know each other introduced themselves. Riku merely spoke his name and nodded, while Kairi said 'Hello', said her name and waved to everyone. Leon was similar to Riku, while Aerith and Yuffie did the same as Kairi.

"Are you guys the only ones that are still here?" Sora asked, slight disappointment in his voice. Of course he liked the people that were here, but he was hoping that Cloud would be here as well.

"Na, Cloud and Tifa are somewhere around the town," Cid answered, turning in his chair and looking away from the computer.

"Great!" Sora was ecstatic. He didn't entirely remember Tifa much, but he was pretty sure it had been the girl in black that had been looking for Cloud.

"Where's Merlin?" the king asked, finally bringing the group back to what they were originally there for.

"He should be here soon," Leon spoke.

"He just went around town – I think to get some groceries." Yuffie could always be counted on to give more detail on what Leon would say, since he liked to be all monotonous and what-not.

And with perfect timing, Merlin popped in. He was dressed in his usual blue robe and blue wizard hat, as well as had two bags filled with groceries.

"Merlin!" Sora said ecstatically, grinning his 'Sora grin'.

Merlin stumbled for a bit, looking at Sora. "Oh, Sora m'boy. Almost didn't recognize you. What are you doing here?" he asked, before taking his bags to the other side of the room, where he set them down.

"Sora needs you to explain about the true keyholes," the king told the wizard, seeming just a little impatient.

"Ah yes, I forgot," he said, adjusting his glasses as he walked up to Sora. "And you brought Riku too, yes?"

"Right here," Riku said, raising his hand slightly so the wizard would know who he was.

"Ah, good," Merlin said, nodding his head. "It would be pointless if only Sora was here."

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Well because of course, you and Riku both need to close the true keyholes," he said, his tone of voice making it seem as though that was obvious.

"The king only said you needed me," Sora said, confused.

"That's what Master Yen Sid said," the king said, his voice slightly quieter, trying to remember what Yen Sid had said. "He had only mentioned Sora."

"Had he?" Merlin asked. "Oh dear, then I must have forgotten to tell him about Riku. Oh well, no matter – you're both here and that's all that matters."

"Right," said Sora, nodding. Riku just nodded along with Sora, without saying anything.

"So, the true keyholes..." The wizard coughed as though he was getting ready to tell a long story. "All worlds have two keyholes – one to open gateways to other worlds, and one that completely closes it off to all worlds in general, regardless if you have a gummi ship or magic. Some of these keyholes are the same, so you won't have to go to every world you've been to before. There are only eleven worlds that you'll need to truly lock. When you truly lock these worlds, because you are not from that world, you will immediately begin to be repelled out.

"As for how to lock these true keyholes, your keyblades will know. You will feel a slight pull from both your weapons and they will show you the true keyhole. Now, the way you lock it is by putting your keys together, and it will do the rest for you."

"Good thing about this world is that you don't have to look for the true keyhole," Leon said, which gravitated everyone's attention towards him. "The true keyhole for this place is in the courtyard of the palace. And you won't have to worry about locking this place for a while."

"Why is that?" Sora asked, obviously confused.

Merlin sighed. "You see, once you truly lock a world, you cannot go back so easily. The only way would be to unlock it – which would leave it prey to possible Heartless attacks, or any attacks in general."

"And this place will either be the last or second to last," Leon said, finishing up what Merlin was talking about. "It all depends on if you three decide to stay in your own world or decide to live here."

"It depends on if Kairi decides to be princess or not," Sora said, sudden realization in his face. If Kairi chose to not be the princess, then they would go back to the islands – and Sora would most likely never see his friends again.

"Queen," Yuffie said.

"Huh?" Sora asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"While Kairi is a Princess of Heart, Hollow Bastion has no current rulers," Leon said, explaining it more to Sora than anyone else. "Meaning, Kairi would have to be the queen."

Kairi wasn't stupid. She knew that if she chose to stay in Hollow Bastion, she would be the 'ruler'. However, it hadn't dawned on her that she would be the _queen_. Being called a Princess of Heart was weird enough to her, since she wasn't anything near being a princess, but because that hadn't seemed to affect her, she hadn't dwelled much on the thought. But now, the Princess of Heart thing seemed to be the reason why they wanted her to be queen.

"Why exactly do you want me to be the queen?" Kairi asked. Aside from when they were all introducing themselves, it had been the first time Kairi had really spoken in front of Sora's friends. Her voice was soft and sweet, and by the sound of it, you could tell she was nervous.

Leon looked at the young girl for the first time. He had obviously seen her before, but this was the time he truly looked at his possible future queen. And even though Leon was definitely older than Kairi, he couldn't help but to notice how rather beautiful the young girl was.

"You're a Princess of Heart," Leon answered, his stoic voice somehow lightened as he spoke to her. "And you are from Radiant Garden. If not you, then who else could possibly rule this world?"

Kairi stood there awestruck by what Leon had told her; to her, it was as if he was telling her that she was the only one who could rule Hollow Bastion. And in reality, Kairi really was the only one who could do it properly.

"Kairi," the king spoke now. "You have a pure heart that is not able to accept even the smallest amount of darkness within it. If not this world, you would be destined to rule another. This world, however, just happens to be your home – your true home."

Even though this was Kairi's 'true home', did it mean she had to accept it? Most of her was afraid at the thought of being queen. Right then, more than anything, she wanted herself and her best friends to return to Destiny Islands. She wanted everything to go back to the way it was, before the Heartless and Nobodies came along. And even though she knew it was a pointless dream, it was still something she craved. Kairi craved for normalcy; when she and Sora were fourteen, and Riku was fifteen, and they 'fought over her' – although Kairi knew perfectly well that Riku wasn't really fighting over her. After all, he was in love with Sora and had been for as long as Kairi could remember.

She closed her eyes, trying to erase her thoughts so she could get back to the present. Kairi opened them, her bright blue-purple eyes practically vibrating at the thoughts racing through her mind. But then she heard Leon sigh, and immediately she looked up at him, completely forgetting her thoughts.

"You don't have to make the choice now," Leon told her, looking directly into her eyes. "You can have as much time as you need to decide."

That was the first time Kairi really paid attention to his looks. She knew he had to be a few years older than her, but she couldn't deny that he was extremely attractive. And that scar on his face...A part of her was very interested in finding out how he had gotten it, but she knew she would probably never ask. It wasn't her business, after all.

"Of course!" Yuffie exclaimed, taking Kairi's attention to herself now. "You still have to explore the town and all that stuff." There was a playful grin on her face.

"I can show her around," Sora said, throwing his arms behind his back as he crossed them.

"There's been some changes around here, kid," Cid said, looking back at his computer, then back to everyone else. "So you might want a tour around here yourself."

"What's changed?" Sora asked, confused. He didn't understand how they could change the place to where Sora wouldn't know how to get around.

"Well for one, we got the palace looking a lot better," Cid said, grinning widely. "Took a while, but it looks great. Plus, we've cleaned everything up a bit."

"We're trying to make it back to how Radiant Garden was," Leon said, repeating what King Mickey had said prior to them arriving at Merlin's. "Haven't succeeded yet, and probably won't for a while, but we're getting there."

"That's so cool," Sora said, his smile taking over a large portion of his face. "I can't wait to see how it'll look."

"Has anyone here ever even seen Radiant Garden?" Riku asked. He was just honestly curious, since they kept talking about how they were going to return it to the way it was before.

"Many older people of the town remember how it used to be," Aerith said, answering Riku's question. "We've asked them all about it and they all remember small little things, so we've done the best we could do at restoring it. Plus-"

"I've been there," the king said, looking down as he remembered his time in Radiant Garden. Terra, Master Aqua and Ventus...he missed all of them dearly, and had vowed long ago that he would do whatever he could to get his friends back.

"Really?" Sora's eyes widened.

"Obviously it was quite a long time ago," King Mickey said, chuckling a bit. "But yes, I was here when I was training to be a keyblade master. It was also back when Ansem the Wise was around." There were many things that the king was tempted to say, like about Xehanort and go into more detail about his friends, but he knew that the three would learn everything in time. "Radiant Garden...is where I had met Terra and Master Aqua," the king admitted, though he didn't mention Ventus's name – it wasn't time for him yet.

"The people who are the reason why Kairi and I can wield keyblades?" Riku asked, looking down at the king

"Yes," he said simply.

"Master...Aqua?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Master Aqua had been made a master by her master," King Mickey said. "It's a dream for keyblade wielders to one day become masters, which means that you are at the highest level that you can be as a wielder. It's a very high honor."

"How do we become a master?" Sora asked, his eyes wide. He wanted to be a master! How cool would that be?

"I wouldn't worry about that right now," the king said, smiling up at Sora. "How 'bout you worry about this business with Maleficent first, and then we can talk about becoming a master."

"Alright," Sora said, fist pumping into the air.

Everyone grinned over at Sora. He was like an overgrown kid to them, and it was nice to have his cheery self around. Throughout all the hardships that everyone had in that room, they could always look forward to Sora's smile to cheer them up.

"So, when do we go?" Riku asked. He of course was the only one focused on the task at hand, while Sora was thinking about becoming a master and Kairi was thinking about becoming a queen.

"As soon as you want," the king told him. "Though you might want to rest up before you go, and maybe even get a good look at the town."

"Yeah, Riku," Sora said, grinning over at his best friend. "We can stay at least overnight."

Riku sighed as he looked at Sora. He couldn't say no to him. "Alright."

* * *

So, although Sora agreed that maybe they should look around the town, he had the sudden urge to see Cloud. He hadn't seen the older male in a while, and he wanted to see all of his friends. When he asked Leon where Cloud was, he said that he was somewhere in the Bailey, sparring with Tifa. And that was the direction that Sora went in, Riku and Kairi following behind him.

Thankfully Sora did actually remember his way around Hollow Bastion, so it didn't take them long to find the Bailey – as well as find Cloud and Tifa sparring.

"Cloud!" Sora yelled out as he ran over to the two fighting.

At hearing Cloud's name, both Cloud and Tifa stopped, got into their normal stance, and looked over to see Sora, as well as some faces they didn't recognize.

"Well, if it isn't Sora," Cloud said, his voice monotone as usual.

Sora, of course, grinned his cheesy Sora grin. "Did ya' miss me, Cloud?"

"Oh yeah, so much." His voice, even though it was laced with sarcasm, still sounded merely monotonous.

Sora pouted. "Well aren't you nice."

Tifa giggled, smiling at the two, before looking directly at Sora. "Hey Sora," she said, her voice cheery. She had only met the kid once and twice, but he did leave a lasting impression on you. Plus, Yuffie and Leon had been talking non-stop about how he'd be coming to the world soon.

"Hey Tifa," Sora said, recovering from his childish pouting.

"Your friends?" she asked, eyeing the other two teenagers.

"Oh, yeah!" he said, before looking slightly behind him to see Riku and Kairi. "Cloud, Tifa," he said, looking at them as he said their names. "These are my best friends, Riku and Kairi." Then, he looked at Riku and Kairi again, "Guys, this is Cloud and Tifa."

"Nice to meet you," Tifa said first, walking over to the two newcomers and shaking each of their hands.

"You too," Kairi said, smiling softly.

"Likewise," Riku said, his voice similar to Cloud's.

"Cloud," Tifa said, turning her head towards the man. "Come on, meet Sora's friends." She looked back at Riku and Kairi. "Sorry, he's not much of a people person."

"No worries," Kairi said, still smiling softly. Kairi looked up at Riku. _We all know someone like that,_ she thought to herself.

"Were you guys sparring without using weapons?" Sora asked, realizing that he didn't see Cloud's sword when they were fighting.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, I tend not to use weapons. I'm better at hand-to-hand combat, so Cloud offered to spar with me."

"Oh, that's cool," Sora said, a little shocked that a girl could fight hand-to-hand. "Oh! I haven't sparred with Cloud in forever."

Tifa giggled again. "You want to?" She looked back at Cloud, a questioning look in her eyes. He merely shrugged, which meant that he didn't mind.

Cloud went and got his large sword, which had been stuck into the ground a bit away from where he and Tifa had been sparring. And at seeing the weapon, Riku and Kairi's eyes widened. It was, without a doubt, the largest sword either of them had ever seen.

Riku smirked. "This outta' be interesting," he said, leaning against one of the walls in the Bailey. Kairi leaned on the wall as well, just a foot separating her and Riku.

Sora got into his familiar stance, before the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at the key and felt the familiarity with it. He had truly missed it, having not needed it since he and Riku had arrived at the islands.

He watched as Cloud got into his usual stance as well. Sora grinned over at the older male. They hadn't sparred since they first met, back in the Olympic Coliseum. And that had been, what seems like, a very long time ago. Since then, Sora's become a much better fighter. However, he didn't take into account that Cloud had probably gotten better as well.

Sora made the first move, immediately running at Cloud and about to use his key, but Cloud easily jumped high, landing behind Sora. Cloud was about to strike, but Sora had become quicker, immediately moving out of the way of the large sword. But then he ran out Cloud again, dodging the blows Cloud made with his sword. Before Sora could get seriously close, however, Cloud blocked an attack with his weapon. He slashed out, blowing Sora back and making him land on his butt.

Before Sora could get up, Cloud stuck out his blade and it was underneath Sora's chin. Cloud had won.

"You've definitely improved, Sora," Cloud told him honestly, removing his sword from under Sora's chin.

"But not enough to beat you," he said, a little disappointed in himself.

"It's not a big deal, Sora," he said, a very small smile on his face. "You should be proud at how good you fight. I don't know anyone who was as good as you at your age.

Sora's face brightened as he looked at Cloud. "Really?"

He nodded his head. "I've been fighting a lot longer than you have, so naturally I'm going to be a lot better. You've barely been fighting for a year."

The grin on Sora's face widened. "That's true! So one day, I _will_ beat you Cloud!"

Cloud laughed. "We'll see."

"I wanna' spar," Riku said from his spot on the wall, surprising everyone when he spoke.

"You sure?" Cloud asked, a brow raising.

"Mhmm," he mumbled, nodding his head. He flicked his wrist out as the Way to Dawn appeared in his hand. He had the same feeling Sora had when he saw his Kingdom Key again. It was like a bubbling feeling, seeing something you were so close to and connected to.

"Alright." Cloud grinned slightly. Riku would probably be a little better than Sora, but Cloud figured he'd beat him anyway.

And so their fight began.

Sora watched, fascinated, as Cloud and Riku fought, both clearly superior fighters. "Aren't they amazing, Kairi?" he said, not able to take his eyes off of Riku and Cloud.

"Yeah," she said softly, watching them intently as well. "I wish I could be that good. Or even as good as you, Sora."

He tore his eyes away from her. She actually looked a little sad. "What's wrong, Kairi?"

"I wanna' be as good as you guys," she said, her voice still soft. "I have a key as well, but I really have no idea how to use it."

Before Sora could say anything, he realized he didn't hear anymore clashing. He looked behind him and his eyes widened as he saw Cloud and Riku in the same position he and Cloud had been in, only this was different. Riku held his blade underneath Cloud's chin. Riku had won.

"Wow, Riku!" Sora said in amazement. "You beat Cloud!"

Riku grinned, looking over at Sora. He had impressed him and that made him feel good. He always wanted Sora's attention.

Cloud looked from Riku to Sora, then to Riku again, before he realized something about the boy. Riku practically _glowed_ when Sora was giving him attention. Riku looked at Sora a way that most people wouldn't look at their best friends, especially if they were the same sex. _The kid's in love with Sora_, he thought to himself, shock evident in his eyes.

Tifa looked over to Cloud, her eyes narrowing in confusion. He was looking at Riku. She looked over to the male as well, slowly noticing what Cloud was just barely realizing. She looked from Riku to Sora, then Riku again. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly what Cloud had realized. _He's in love with Sora_.

"He was hard to beat," Riku admitted. "So I understand why you lost."

Sora grinned over at him, before he noticed Cloud and Tifa looking in their direction, shock obvious on their faces. His grin widened. "You guys shocked that Riku could beat Cloud? 'Cause I'm not! Riku's amazing!"

Cloud and Tifa continued to look at the silver haired male, noticing how he somehow glowed even more. Finally, they shook out of the realization, then looked at each other. Tifa went over to Cloud and held out her hand for him to take. He took it easily and she pulled him up with her own strength.

"Yeah, I'm pretty shocked he could beat Cloud," Tifa said, hiding the shock from before.

Sora continued to grin, before he remembered that he had been talking to Kairi. "Sorry Kairi," he said, looking back at her, then back at Riku. "Hey Riku, Kairi wants to learn how to fight."

Riku looked at her, feeling a little annoyed that the girl had once again taken Sora's attention, but he showed none of that in his eyes. "Really? You did pretty good before." Back in the World that Never Was.

"I know," she said softly, looking down. "But I want to be 'pretty good'. I want to be good. I want to be confident about fighting."

Sora grinned at her. "Well don't worry, Kairi. You and I can spar then!"

"Umm..." Now she felt nervous. Yes, Sora was her best friend and he was good, but truth was, she kind of wanted to just fight Heartless, not spar. She knew that was probably dumb, but she wanted to practice on Heartless. "Actually, is there a way I can just practice on fighting Heartless?"

Sora was a little shocked by her answer, but he looked over at Cloud anyway. "Is there a place in Hollow Bastion that you guys _don't_ have super epic security?"

He nodded. "There's a place; it's lower in the Bailey."

"It would probably be perfect, actually," Tifa said, smiling. "There's not a lot of Heartless, but there's enough to where you can fight a bunch of them. We all go there actually when we want to blow off some steam."

Kairi smiled. "That would work."

Tifa looked Kairi up and down. "Now that I think about it, we should probably get you some new clothes, too." Kairi looked at the woman confused. "Not that your outfit isn't cute or anything, but you're wearing a dress, aren't you? If you're going to be fighting Heartless, you might want to wear something that won't hinder your fighting."

Kairi nodded in agreement. "That's true."

"Go to Merlin for that," Sora told them. "He can probably enchant your clothes like Yen Sid had the fairies do to my clothes. It helps out when we go to different worlds."

"Oh, she's going to other worlds with you? Isn't she supposed to be the Queen?" Tifa asked, remembering that one of the reasons they had sent for Sora was because he was friends with a Princess of Heart.

"Umm, I'm still debating that," Kairi told the woman.

Tifa nodded. "That makes sense." She linked her arm with Kairi's. "Well, come on. Let's go to Merlin's." She looked back at Cloud. "You coming Cloud?"

Why would he come? He looked at Tifa, whose gaze flicked to Riku's form for a moment, before back to his. Oh. That's why.

"Yeah, sure."

With that, Kairi, Tifa and Cloud were off to Merlin's house. Kairi felt just a tad confused at the sudden change in direction of everything, but she simply went with the flow. After seeing how strong Tifa was, she didn't really want to go against what she wanted.

So, Riku and Sora were left alone.

Sora grinned, looking up at Riku. "Can you believe it, Riku? Another adventure! And this time, you and I will be able to fight together and on the same side!"

Though Riku knew Sora hadn't meant it, when he mentioned that _this time_ he and Sora would be on the same side, he couldn't help but to feel guilty about what he had done over a year ago. Sora was his best friend, the boy he had been in love with his whole life, and he had betrayed him and abandoned him so easily. Looking back, even though Riku knew why he had done it, he didn't _understand_ why he had done it – _how_ he could have done it. He didn't understand at all how he could possibly hurt Sora the way he knew he had. Desperately, Riku wished he could take it all back, but he knew he couldn't.

"We'll always fight on the same side, Sora," he told him, looking down at his best friend. "We'll always be together."

Sora's grin somehow grew wider, and Riku felt his heart clench. He absolutely loved Sora's smile. It made everything brighter and happier; it made _Riku_ happier. Even if he wasn't with Sora, all he had to do was think about the boy and his beautiful smile, and Riku would no longer be in that dark place in his mind.

"You promise Riku? You promise that you'll never go to the Darkness again?" Sora's tone was almost sad, although he tried to hide it. But Sora had never been good at hiding his emotions.

Riku smiled softly at Sora, looking directly into his eyes. "I promise, Sora."

His happy grin was back. "Good. 'Cause even if you tried, I'd drag you right back to me and not let go of you until you realized you were being stupid."

Riku laughed. _I'd act stupid for the rest of my life if it made you never let go of me_, he thought to himself. "Sounds like the hug of death."

Sora laughed as well. "As long as it's the death of the Darkness, then it probably wouldn't be a bad thing."

Riku continued to look at Sora, before looking out at the town. "Yeah." _Only you can make it go away, Sora._


	3. Twilight Town

Sora and Riku had stayed there for a while, watching as the sky slowly got darker and darker, before heading back to Merlin's home. Sora agreed to show Riku around next time they came back to Hollow Bastion, and Riku merely shrugged and said 'okay'. It wasn't like they needed to be in a hurry for Riku to see around the town – hell, Kairi needed to see and get accustomed to the town more than Riku or Sora did.

When they got back to Merlin's, Kairi was already dressed in her new outfit – provided by Yuffie and Aerith. She now wore black shorts, a pink shirt that resembled her pink dress and her same lavender shoes. Sora and Riku approved, as did everyone else who saw her new outfit. It had her blushing.

It was too dark for Kairi to practice fighting against the Heartless, but Riku and Sora promised her that they would get some practice in before they left the next day.

* * *

"So, you guys gonna' be gone long?" Yuffie asked.

"Shouldn't be too long," Sora said, his arms crossing behind his head. It was a stance that Sora had been doing since he was little.

"Good. We'll miss you," Aerith spoke, her voice soft as always.

"Aww," Sora grinned brightly. "Don't worry. We'll visit when we're ready for a break."

"Don't take too many breaks," the king said, looking at the trio sternly. "The longer this goes on, the more power Maleficent and the Heartless have."

"We won't be long," Riku said, assuring the king.

King Mickey nodded. "Good."

"Well, we'll see you guys when you come back," said Yuffie, grinning and waving at the friends.

"Yeah, see ya'!" Sora said excitedly.

Riku simply waved and Kairi did the same, saying a shy 'Goodbye' as they all left Hollow Bastion and headed towards their next destination – Twilight Town.

* * *

They walked out of the station, looking around the small town. All three had been to Twilight Town at some point, and it was weird being in the town together.

"I wonder where the true keyhole is for this place," Sora said, more to himself.

"Don't know," Riku said simply, though he was wondering the same thing. He had a guess of two places that could possibly hold the true keyhole.

"Well, I say we go see Hayner, Pence and Olette! I miss them and I'm sure they wanna' make sure that Kairi is okay." Sora was of course the one to suggest that. Only he and Kairi had ever met the three friends, while Riku had only seen the three while he was with Ansem the Wise.

"Good idea," Kairi said, smiling sweetly at Sora.

"Yeah!" Sora said excitedly, grinning like an idiot of course. "You okay with that, Riku?" he asked suddenly, looking immediately at his best friend.

"Sure," he said, nodding. He didn't care if they did or didn't. Twilight Town wasn't a favorite place of Riku's. Being in the world reminded him of the year that he had to wait for Sora, and that definitely hadn't been a fun year for him.

"Alright, then let's go!" With that, Sora ran towards the 'Usual Spot' where he knew Hayner, Pence and Olette would be. Whenever he came to Twilight Town, they were always there.

Riku and Kairi followed behind him. "It will always surprise me how he hasn't really changed," Kairi said, giggling.

A smirk appeared on Riku's face at her words. "I don't know," he said, as he and Kairi walked after Sora. "It doesn't really shock me."

"Really?" she asked, looking over at Riku. "Even though its been a year already? And with all of the things that have happened?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head as he looked in the direction Sora ran. "It's Sora." He looked to Kairi. "Would you really want him any other way?"

Kairi couldn't help but to smile at Riku's words. Of course, she knew exactly why he was speaking about Sora that way, and that was because he was in love with Sora. She didn't entirely know _how_ long he had loved his best friend, but she knew it had been for a long time. Kairi had noticed it about a year before the Heartless took over. And ever since her two best friends had gotten back from their adventures, she had noticed that it hadn't changed. Riku was still in love with Sora.

"You're right," she told him, now looking in the direction that Sora had run to.

The trio arrived at the 'Usual Spot'; Sora waited for his best friends, but of course was very impatient doing so.

"Took you guys long enough," he said, grinning as he stuck his tongue out. Riku simply rolled his eyes and Kairi giggled. "So, ready?"

Riku and Kairi nodded, enhancing Sora's grin, before the walked into the 'Usual Spot', and no surprise to Sora, there was Hayner, Pence and Olette. They weren't doing anything really, just sitting around and licking at their popsicles.

Olette was the first to notice the trio. "Sora!" she said, her voice sounded in surprise.

The other two looked up at the mentioning of the name, before their eyes widened slightly in surprise. "K-Kairi! Sora!" Hayner exclaimed.

"Hey guys," Sora said with his cheesy grin plastered on his face.

"Hey," Kairi said softly.

The Twilight Town natives got off their seats and went over to the other trio. "So obviously you guys all made it out okay," Pence said, looking over Sora and Kairi.

"Yup," Sora said, still grinning as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Who's this guy?" Hayner asked, looking up and down at Riku.

"Oh, this is my best friend Riku," Sora answered.

"Oh, that other friend you were looking for, right?" Olette asked.

"Uh-huh," Sora said, nodding his head.

"Nice to meet you," Hayner said, holding out his hand to Riku.

Riku looked at the hand, before hesitantly reaching out his own to shake Hayner's. He recognized this boy as Roxas's 'best friend', and to him it was a little weird seeing the male in actual person like this.

"Likewise," he said, though not entirely true. He just didn't care about the people here – or the world, for that matter. It brought bad memories for him and he just wanted to lock the keyhole and leave.

Hayner got the hint that Riku wasn't entirely happy to be meeting them, and though he didn't say anything about Sora's 'rude friend', he couldn't help but to be curious as to why this stranger seemed to hate him already.

"Sora, I'm gonna' check the place out," Riku said, and left without another word.

"R-Riku!" Sora shouted, shocked that Riku just randomly decided to leave. What was up with him?

"Did we do something wrong?" Olette asked. She wasn't stupid, so it was obvious to her that the silver-haired male wasn't exactly all that thrilled to be in their world.

"He's not usually like that..." Sora said, looking in the direction his best friend had gone in.

"Go after him, Sora," Kairi said, smiling cutely at him. "He won't calm down until you talk to him."

Sora laughed at that. "Yeah, I'm the only one who can understand him," he said cockily.

_You're also the only one he'll listen to_, she thought to herself, though wouldn't say it aloud. It was Riku's feelings, and only Riku should tell Sora about them.

"I'll be back in a bit, alright?" Sora confirmed, before heading out of the 'Usual Spot', and hoping to catch up with Riku.

Sora had no _idea_ what was up with Riku. His best friend had been fine the night before, as well as that morning and on their ride to Twilight Town. But suddenly now, he was in a bad mood? Why would he be? To Sora's knowledge, Riku had never met Hayner, Pence or Olette, let alone been to Twilight Town. Of course, Sora didn't entirely know that Riku had been watching over him for a year, in this very town.

He was lucky enough to have caught a fleck of silver going through a crack in the wall. _Riku's hair!_ Sora dashed in the direction of the crack, before bending down slightly so he could go through it.

Although he had only been in this forest a few times, he knew what this forest led to and it wasn't hard for him to find his way to the mansion. And as he looked outside the gates, he had to suppress a shiver from running down his spine. This was the place where he, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy had slept away for a year, though Sora still wasn't entirely sure why. He knew he had been sleeping, but he wasn't sure why – he hadn't bothered to ask. If it didn't disturb his life, Sora felt no need to know. However, there were times he wish he could remember – remember what he had forgotten and more importantly, _who_ he had forgotten.

Nonetheless, Sora saw Riku walk into the mansion, and so Sora would as well.

As he passed through the gate and walked into the mansion, he wandered into a couple of rooms – before he ran into the one that Riku was in.

"There you are, Riku!" he exclaimed. "Why'd you come...here...?"

Sora then took notice of the room that they were in. It was pure white; the walls, the table, the chairs...everything was white. And pictures littered the walls, table and floor.

"What is this room?" he asked, more to himself though.

However, Riku answered. "Namine's room."

"Namine?" he asked. His eyes widened. "Kairi's Nobody?"

"Yep," Riku answered simply, looking at one of the many drawings in the room. "She stayed in this room while you were asleep for a year."

"Really?" Sora asked, shocked. The Nobody of Kairi had been in the same place as he had been?

Sora continued to look around the room, going towards Riku. But then a drawing caught his eye. "Who are they supposed to be?" he asked, pointing to one of the pictures.

Riku looked at it, before snorting. "That's you and Roxas, Sora," Riku answered.

"Me and...Roxas?" he asked, stunned.

"Yeah," Riku said, nodding his head. The picture showed Sora in his old clothes and his keyblade, while Roxas was in a black robe with a keyblade as well.

"Did you know my Nobody, Riku?"

Riku tilted his head to look over at Sora, before he looked at Namine's picture once again. "Yeah," he answered truthfully. He hadn't purposely kept that from Sora, but neither had ever brought it up.

"What was he like?" Sora asked. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to meet his Nobody. He had fought him for a moment, and then saw him again with Namine, before both Nobodies returned to Sora and Kairi.

Riku sighed. "Similar to you," he said, remembering the young Nobody. "Although, he was a little more aggressive. And definitely more depressing." The memory of fighting the Nobody entered his mind. "I fought him," he told Sora. "And lost. I was trying to get him to return to you, so you would wake up sooner, but Roxas wasn't cooperating." Riku tilted his face so he could look at Sora again. "That's when I released the Darkness in my heart and took on the form of Xehanort's Heartless."

"So...that happened to you...because you were trying to wake me up?" Sora looked up at his best friend, and realized that Riku had already been looking at him.

Riku looked into Sora's eyes. "Yeah," he said, before sighing and looking away again. He was looking at the picture he had been looking at since he had arrived in the room.

Sora really didn't really have a clue as to what he should say to Riku. Should he thank him? Apologize to him?

However, Sora didn't have to think about that for long, because soon his attention was drawn to the picture that Riku was looking at. From what he could tell of the drawing, it looked like that gigantic egg thing that he had woken up in. And touching it was...

"Riku, is that you?" Sora asked. He had completely forgotten their conversation about Roxas.

"Yeah," Riku said, unable to look away from the drawing.

"That's...me in there, isn't it?" Sora was uncertain now.

"It is," he said simply.

Riku hadn't realized that Namine had been there. He could remember that exact moment, too. It had only happened once when Riku did that, his hand resting against the egg that held Sora. _"I love you, Sora,"_ he had said to the egg. Riku had been in such turmoil in that moment. He missed Sora terribly and it was killing him to know that everything was entirely his fault. It killed him that he would have to wait at least a year to see his best friend – the love of his life. How could Sora forgive, if he couldn't even forgive himself? It was his punishment to himself.

"What were you...doing?" Sora asked. Sora was, of course, oblivious to the turmoil that Riku had felt.

"I just wanted to see you," Riku said truthfully. "I hated myself for what I had done to you, and now my best friend was gone for at least a year...It was punishment."

Sora's eyes widened. "Punishment? For what?"

"For betraying you of course," Riku said, his eyes finally meeting Sora's again.

Sora's eyes widened even more than before. Riku's eyes were filled with such turmoil and guilt that Sora felt as though it were _eating_ at his own heart.

"B-But Riku, I already forgave you...for everything..."

Riku scoffed. "I know, but at that time, I didn't know you would forgive me. I knew you were kind, Sora, but...I didn't deserve your kindness – I still don't."

"Riku..." Sora looked up at his best friend. Was this how he was feeling? "Riku, you're my best friend," he said, looking right into Riku's eyes. "You deserve any kindness I give you. Sure, you made a mistake – everyone does!"

"Not everyone makes a mistake so terrible that it almost kills their best friend," he told him, the anguish still in his eyes. He didn't know why he was letting Sora see this; he had been hiding it from his best friend, but now he just didn't see the need to. However, just because he was letting this secret out, didn't mean he was willing to let out the other one.

"But I'm fine, aren't I?" Sora stepped closer to Riku, getting toe-to-toe with him. "I'm fine, you're fine, Kairi's fine – the worlds are fine. So stop punishing yourself, Riku. You don't deserve it, even from yourself."

Riku was stunned to hear these words from his best friend, but then he wasn't at the same time. Sora was a kind-hearted person, to anyone and everyone; he was someone who believed in second chances, and third and fourth. But that's also what made the brunette completely naive. It was something that Riku adored. Darkness just couldn't touch him.

"You're right, you are fine," he said, staring into Sora's eyes. He lifted his right hand, before it moved towards Sora's face. Sora's eyes widened a fraction, but he didn't move. Riku's fingers skillfully moved some of Sora's hair behind his ear, before he dropped his arm.

Sora had no clue what that was. His heart had suddenly beat way faster than normal, and he felt like he couldn't move – like his feet were stuck the ground. But as soon as Riku's hand had dropped, the feeling went away. Being Sora, he chose to ignore it. Maybe it was a fluke.

"C'mon," Riku said, grinning over at his best friend. "Let's go find the keyhole."

The brunette was still staring in the eyes of his best friend, before he shook his head and a 'Sora grin' popped onto his face. "Yeah!"

* * *

Sora and Riku slowly found their way back to the 'Usual Spot', seeing that Kairi was still there, along with Hayner, Pence and Olette.

"Hey guys," Sora said, grinning as usual.

"Hey," Hayner nodded at Sora. He looked in Riku's direction, before doing a simple nod.

Riku returned it.

"So, what you have you guys been talking about?" Sora asked.

"Nothing important, Mr. Nosey," Kairi said over to Sora, grinning as she saw him pout.

What had the four been talking about?

_"So, what's up with that Riku guy?" Hayner asked Kairi as soon as he was sure that Sora wouldn't be able to hear him._

_ "He's been through a lot," Kairi said, wondering how much would be okay to tell the trio._

_ "What do you mean?" Olette asked._

_ "Well...I don't want to get into full details, but basically Riku betrayed Sora and hurt him really badly. He made up for it so many times, but...Riku still hasn't forgiven himself for hurting Sora."_

_ "Oh," Olette said, slightly surprised at Kairi's words. From what Olette could tell, Sora and Riku seemed to be really close, so the fact that Riku had once betrayed Sora...it didn't make sense to her._

_ "But what does that have to do with his attitude?" Hayner asked. He wasn't one to beat around the bush; he preferred to be blunt._

_ Kairi sighed, thinking about it. Even though she trusted the three, she didn't feel right sharing Riku's secret with them. Riku, she was sure, hadn't shared the secret with _anyone_, so of course she couldn't just go around telling people in different worlds._

_ "He just...goes through random moods. One minute he's cold, the next he's not. Then cold, then not; it's a bit difficult to get used to." Technically Kairi wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling the full truth. But under these circumstances, she could deal with it._

_ "All because of his betrayal to his best friend?" Hayner asked. He wasn't sure if he believed what Kairi was telling him. He trusted the girl, but the reason for Riku's behavior just didn't seem reasonable._

_ "Well think about it, Hayner," Olette started. "If you betrayed and hurt Pence or I, even if we forgave you, wouldn't it nag at you? I know it would nag at me forever if I had hurt one of you, whether you forgave me for it or not."_

_ "Yeah, I guess you're right," he admitted._

"Nothing important," Olette told Sora.

"What were you guys up to?" Kairi asked, trying to divert the attention from them.

"At the mansion," Sora answered truthfully.

"What were you guys doing there?" Pence asked. "Trying to go to that other Twilight Town again?"

Sora shook his head. "Na, just wanted to check it out." He looked at everyone, a sad expression slowly appearing on his face. They would be leaving soon; he and Riku had found the keyhole.

Kairi looked at the expression on Sora's face, and knew immediately. "We're leaving now, aren't we?" she asked. Her facial expression also turned sad. She would miss Twilight Town.

"But you guys just got here!" Pence exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, guys," Sora said. "But, we've got stuff to do and people to save."

"Other worlds?" Hayner asked. Sora simply nodded. This group knew of other worlds, so Sora knew they didn't have to worry about 'upsetting the balance'.

"It's gonna' be harder to see you guys," Sora told them. They deserved to know the truth.

"Why?" Olette asked.

"We have to lock this place up," Riku spoke, finally. "So no harm comes here, and it stays as peaceful as it has been."

"We can still visit," Sora assured them. "But...it can't be very often."

"Oh," Hayner, Pence and Olette all said.

Hayner immediately forced a smile on his face. "Well hey, at least you'll get visit eventually."

Sora forced himself as well. "Yeah!"

Riku watched the exchange between the two, and he suddenly realized that, through Roxas, these two had a bond. Even though Roxas's life in Twilight Town had been a lie, his friendship with Hayner hadn't been, and therefore the Nobody still had an emotional tie with this place. It annoyed Riku to no end, but he wouldn't let his jealousy act up.

"Well, can we at least see you guys off?" Olette asked.

"Sure," Kairi said simply.

"Cool," Hayner said, getting up from his seat. "Let's go then."

Kairi, Pence and Olette got up after Hayner.

"So where's the keyhole?" Kairi asked.

"It's the clock tower," Riku answered simply. He had thought it was either that, or the mansion, and neither him nor Sora had felt any pull from their keyblades.

She nodded, before the six teenagers left the 'Usual Spot'.

* * *

The walk up to the train station wasn't exactly an exciting one, but Sora tried his hardest so everyone would be upbeat, but even Sora had his work cut out for him.

And when they arrived at the station, it was even worse.

However, they did have a job to do.

"We'll miss you guys," Sora said as he looked at Hayner, Pence and Olette. "We'll visit as much as we can."

Hayner grinned. "I'm holding you to that."

Sora grinned back, before he looked at the clock tower. He and Riku flicked out their wrists, their keyblades appearing in their hands. The pull that Merlin spoke of appeared in just a couple of seconds, and Sora and Riku felt as though their keyblades were going to pull them up and make them fly.

But, that didn't happen.

Riku looked over at Sora, before Sora looked over at Riku, then they looked at their keys. The Keyblade and Way to Dawn were being drawn to each other, forcing Riku and Sora to be closer to each other. And when the two keys finally touched, they glowed and faced straight up to the clock tower. The middle of the clock suddenly glowed as well, before a keyhole was seen there, shining. A bright beam was released from Sora and Riku's keys, hitting directly into the keyhole.

A great locking sound was heard.

The beam and the pull from the keyblades disappeared in an instant, leaving the two boys stunned.

"That was it?" Sora asked, looking at his keyblade.

"I guess so," Riku said.

They let their keyblades disappear, before the realized that they were suddenly glowing...and suddenly floating.

"What the-?!" Hayner exclaimed.

"Oh, Merlin talked about this!" Sora said, remembering.

"Yeah," Kairi said, remembering as well as her and her best friends floated higher and higher.

"We're not from this world," Riku said. "And therefore, the world will force us to leave."

Sora looked down to see his friends. "Don't forget your promise, Sora!" Hayner yelled.

Sora, of course, grinned. "I won't!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, a chunk of this was inspired by the doujinshi **_**Walking Together**_**. It is one of my favorite yaois in the world, so I couldn't help but to have some influences from the story in my own story. So, don't be surprised if some parts of this story seem similar to **_**Crown**_** and the rest of the chapters (except the threesome one – I could never do that, lol).**


	4. Port Royal

Port Royal was a world that Sora very much enjoyed. So naturally, when he saw that it was the next world they were going to, he was ecstatic.

"What's Port Royal?" Kairi asked as they set the world as their new destination.

"It's this epic world with pirates!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait for you guys to see it! You'll get to meet Captain Jack, Will and Elizabeth!"

Riku smirked at Sora as he continued on with his excited rant about the pirate-y world. Of course, Riku knew about Sora's obsession for pirates, so it was no surprise to him that he was excited about the world. In fact, though Riku wouldn't truly admit it, he was a bit excited as well to go to the world. When they were younger, he and Sora used to pretend to be pirates and have 'pirate fights', so meeting a real pirate would be pretty awesome.

"I'm so excited!" Sora yelled.

* * *

The gang was dropped off on a pirate ship, one which Sora wasn't familiar.

"Where are we?" he asked, himself more than the others.

And as Sora looked around and at the crew, he realized he didn't recognize anyone. He did, however, realize that they were in a very cold place – which finally registered to his body.

"It's freezing," Kairi said, her breath visible due to the cold.

Riku agreed, but he was Riku, so of course he wouldn't say anything.

Sora was of course freezing as well, and looked around to see if he recognized anyone. None of the faces looked familiar to him, and he was starting to get a little worried.

_Where are we?_ he asked himself. Why would the Gummi ship drop them off in a random ship? It had to be important somehow.

"Sora?"

Sora heard his name and immediately turned in the direction he heard it. A grin immediately appeared on his face as recognized the male that was towards the end of the ship.

"Will!" he said happily. "Come on guys, I know him," he spoke to his friends, before running over to his friend.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here," he said, surprise slightly obvious in his voice.

"Neither were we, or at least not _here_, wherever _here_ is."

"Ah, yes," he said, looking around at the glaciers around them. "You've missed quite a lot since you've been gone."

"Really?" Sora asked. "Like what?"

"Well..." Will thought about it for a moment. "We fought Davey Jones, Jack's dead, Barbosa is on our side and now we're on our way to Davey Jones' locker to get Jack back."

Will had been right, Sora _had_ missed a lot. His eyes had gone wide when Will said that Jack was dead, and even wider when he was told _Barbosa_ was now on their side. But when he mentioned getting Jack back, Sora was just a tad confused. He knew what Davey Jones' locker was, but he didn't know that you could go in it to save people who had been killed.

Sora being Sora, he really had only one question. "Do you need any help?"

Will simply grinned at the brunette. "Of course. We need any help we can get."

"Great!" Sora said happily.

Kairi faked a cough, reminding Sora that his best friends were behind him. "Oh! Will! I almost forgot. These are my best friends, Riku and Kairi," he said, introducing them. "Guys, this is Will."

"Ah," Will muttered, nodding his head. "Where's uh...Donald and Goofy?"

"They had to stay behind, unfortunately," Sora said, a little saddened at the thought. He was missing his two friends, since they _had_ gone on so many adventures together.

"Ah, well, right then. I should probably tell Barbosa about you being here," he said, starting to walk towards the head of the ship.

"I can't wrap my head round him being a 'good guy'," Sora said, even the words not making sense on his tongue.

"How come?" Kairi asked him as she and Riku took to Sora's sides.

"'Cause when I was here last, he was the bad guy, and I had thought Jack killed him."

"Makes sense," Riku said simply, before looking at the brunette, then looking towards Will.

* * *

The group finally learned a bit more detail about what exactly was going on. They learned about the seven things they needed for the 'Brethren Court,' and that because Jack was a part of it, they would obviously need him. They also learned _why_ Jack was in Davey Jones' locker, and now they were on their way to get him. However, they were still very unsure of how they were going to be getting Jack. Unfortunately, no one decided to let them know how that was going to work. Will actually didn't even seem to know, while Barbosa seemed to simply stay quiet. And as for Elizabeth, it was weird for Sora to see her in the new wardrobe and looking much more like a pirate. When he had met her and Will, Elizabeth was in a dress and seemed to be very much like a 'lady'. Now, it was much different.

"I wonder how much longer until we get there," Sora spoke, though more to him than to anyone else.

However, Barbosa seemed to hear him. "Oh, don't you worry lad. We'll be getting there soon enough."

For some reason, even though Barbosa was technically assuring him, it didn't make the situation better for Sora. In fact, he was starting to get more and more scared.

"Where are we anyway?" Kairi asked as she huddled into a blanket.

"Oh, we're good and lost now."

"Lost?!" Sora's eyes practically bugged from his head. How could they find Jack if they were lost?

"Yes, lost. If you want to find something, you have to be good and lost."

By now, everyone was freaking out. And as Sora looked to Riku, he noticed Riku's eyes wide as well, only he was looking towards the front of the ship. Sora's eyes narrowed in confusion, before he finally looked in the same direction Riku was looking in. And that's when he saw it.

A waterfall.

Barbosa had led them straight to an end.

Will immediately started calling out to people to try and stop the ship so they could escape, however, Barbosa interrupted him and told them to keep going. For some unknown reason to Sora, Riku and Kairi, everyone listened to him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sora exclaimed.

"I'd suggest you hold onto something," Barbosa said finally, and that was something that Sora _did_ listen to.

The three friends ran to one of the poles holding the sails up for the ship, and there being only one rope, Riku and Sora decided to let Kairi have it. She would be the safest with that on. As for Sora, he held onto the rope for dear life, as well as clung unto the pole as best he could. And Riku, he decided to keep Sora as safe as possible, and so he got behind Sora and held him close, making sure that he was covering all of the boy so nothing would be able to hurt him. For himself, he only held onto the rope that Kairi was attached to. His priority was keeping Sora safe.

"Riku, you gotta' protect your-"

"It's fine, Sora," he said into his ear, his voice raspy from slight fear.

Sora decided to just keep quiet, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything to make Riku protect himself. So instead, Sora wrapped the rope around his arm and held onto it even tighter, before turning his body so he and Riku were chest to chest. Riku tried to hold in his shock, but he knew it registered in his eyes, though he was sure that only Kairi could see his eyes at the moment. Sora was preoccupied with the outside world, his Keyblade in hand, ready to hit anything that could hurt Riku.

"How close?" Sora asked. He was absolutely terrified. For all he knew, they could all die from this.

"Couple yards," Riku answered him, his voice tight and in complete control. He wouldn't let anything happen to Sora – or Kairi.

"If we come out alive," Sora began, but Riku interrupted him.

"We _will_ come out alive," Riku told him, looking down and directly into Sora's eyes.

That look in his eyes made Sora's body shiver all over, but from what he wasn't entirely sure.

"Either way, I'm killing Barbosa," he said with a pout, before looking away from Riku's gaze. It was doing something to him that he didn't quite understand.

Kairi simply laughed, and the two were reminded that she was still there with them. "You, two," she said, grinning as she looked at her two friends. "We'll be fine."

And just as Kairi said that, the three began to feel weightless, knowing full well that they had left the water and were now floating with the ship as they all pummeled down into the water below.

* * *

"Riku, wake up!"

"Riku, please!"

"A little fall hurt him? And here I thought he was a strong one."

"That wasn't a little fall! It was a huge waterfall! People don't normally survive from that stuff!"

"Sora?" A raspy voice was suddenly heard over the people that were arguing.

"Riku!" The silver-haired boy suddenly felt something heavy crash into his chest, but immediately recognizing the voice, he didn't mind the body on top of his. "You're okay."

"Of course I am," Riku said, finally opening his eyes and seeing his best friend's bright blue eyes. It looked like he might have been crying. "Ya' miss me that much, Sora?" There was a cocky grin on his face, but on the inside, his heart clutched at how much his friend cared for him. Even if it wasn't the way Riku felt for him, he could at least say that he was Sora's best friend. That was enough.

"Shut up," Sora said childishly, before getting off his best friend, to Riku's dismay.

Sora offered his hand to Riku, and Riku gladly took it as he got up, holding back how sick and uncoordinated he felt. It wouldn't suit well for _Riku_ to not be graceful.

"You okay?" Sora asked him, looking up at his best friend, but still having yet to let go of his hand.

"I'm fine," Riku said simply, trying desperately not to squeeze Sora's hand in his.

"Now that we're all okay, would you mind if we made a move on?" Barbosa asked sarcastically, glaring with an obvious annoyed expression at the two friends.

"Sure," Sora said immediately, removing his hand from Riku's.

Kairi watched the two, though noticed more how Riku acted, rather than Sora. _Come on, Sora, just notice it already,_ she thought to herself.

"What the heck is that?"

Everyone looked suddenly in the same direction, and what they ended up seeing was a ship – a very specific ship. And this ship was somehow sailing through _sand, _however. It was the Black Pearl. And riding it, was none other than Jack Sparrow.

"It's Jack!" Sora said excitedly, before running off towards the Black Pearl. Riku and Kairi immediately started running after their friend, and before long, everyone else was running towards the Black Pearl as well.

"Jack," Sora called as he reached the ship.

Jack, having heard the call, looked down from his ship. "Why, Sora, is that you?" He stepped up onto the edge of the boat. "How long has it been?"

"A bit too long," Sora said, a large grin on his face.

"Has it now-" That was when the notorious pirate fell to the shore, losing his footing on the edge.

Riku's face showed confusion, Kairi's showed genuine worry, while everyone else, including Sora, didn't seem surprised. It wasn't like Jack was the most graceful pirate in the world.

"What are you all doing here, anyway?" Jack asked as he got himself back up. "Or are you just some sort of mirage? I've been seeing a lot of that these days, you know."

"Jack," Elizabeth spoke. "It's us. We're here to rescue you."

He looked at her, before looking at everyone else. "Are you now?"

"Yes, we are," Will said, soon standing next to Elizabeth.

"And I suppose I am to believe you?"

"Well why wouldn't you?" Sora asked, confused at the whole situation. But of course, he hadn't seen or been around when all the things had happened.

"Well why should I? Why should I believe any of you? Three of you tried to kill me – one of you succeeded." Jack's eyes went straight to Elizabeth then, as did Will's – his eyes were filled with confusion. "Oh? She has not told you?"

"What the heck have I missed?" Sora said, still in complete confusion.

"Many things, apparently, lad," Jack replied, still staring at Elizabeth and Will. "Well anyway, if you are here to rescue me, you're doing quite a poor job."

"And how do you suppose that, Jack?" Barbosa asked.

"I'm the one with the boat," he answered rather smugly.

"Aye, ye are, Jack. But I'm the one with the map."

* * *

"So how the heck are we supposed to leave this place, anyway?" Sora asked. They had been sailing aimlessly for the past couple hours, and already spooky things had happened. Especially, when Elizabeth had seen her dead father, whom she had thought was alive. She was still crying over it of course, and Will was attempting to comfort her, but there was some distance currently between them, so it didn't seem to be going so well.

"We need to find the gateway to the living world," one of the pirates said.

"Aye," Barbosa said. "And we have a time limit, as well."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.

"At sunset, a very faint green light passes over the horizon, and that is the gateway of the living and dead. We must make it in time for that, otherwise we're stuck here."

No one had been paying attention to Jack, but around this time, he was currently looking over the map, trying to make sense of it, before he seemed to finally comprehend something.

"Oh , what's that?" he asked loudly, before running to the right of the boat.

Immediately, everyone went in the direction that he had. "I don't see anything," Sora said with obvious confusion.

"Oh, it's over there!" Jack proceeded to run to the left of the boat.

Then once again. And again.

Finally, Barbosa seemed to catch on as he looked at what Jack had discovered on the map. "Keep moving, lads!" he commanded.

"What's the point of this?" Riku called, though he continued to run back and forth.

"This is how we will get back to the living," Barbosa said. And that was enough for anyone who was listening.

The ship was slowly moving back and forth due to their running, slowly but surely lifting up almost completely, before going back the other way as the crew continued to do the same. Everyone seemed to finally get what was happening, though very few probably knew exactly what was _going_ to happen.

Soon, the ship was finally tipping more and more, and finally, the Black Pearl was completely upside down. Riku watched Sora to make sure he was fine and could hold on, before checking to make sure Kairi was fine as well. Sora and Riku were right next to each other, while Kairi was on the other side of the ship with Elizabeth, both females helping each other out.

No longer than a minute, the water above them suddenly shifted, and finally rushed down to the ship, effectively making the Black Pearl once again on top of the ocean.

"Are we back?" Elizabeth asked.

"Aye," Barbosa announced. "We are."

* * *

**If anyone has watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 before, you know what happens in this. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything to really put in all of this, so it's just going to be a skip.**

* * *

The Brethren Court was in session, and just about everyone had arrived, including Sora, Riku and Kairi. They were debating what they should do about the ensuing war that was upon them. What could they do?

"We release Calypso from her human bounds," Barbosa suggested.

"We fight!" Elizabeth suggested, though her claim was much more vigorous than Barbosa.

"If we fight, we die," replied one of the pirates.

"If we do nothing, we die," Sora butted in, before Riku quieted him.

Sora looked up at Riku in confusion. "It's not our battle," Riku explained to him, and that seemed to be enough for Sora. Riku was right, of course; it wasn't their battle.

"That's why we must release Calypso. She will save us from this battle and destroy Beckett."

"You don't know that," argued a pirate. "There was a reason why the first Brethren Court bound her in the first place."

"But we need her, now," Barbosa argued back.

"How 'bout we put it to a vote?" suggested Jack.

"How 'bout we don't?" Barbosa suggested sarcastically.

"We're never going to agree on this," Elizabeth sighed with annoyance.

"Isn't there a way we can have someone decide on what we do?" one of the pirates suggested.

"Yes, having the pirate king. But because no pirate ever votes for someone other than themselves, it would never work."

"How 'bout we put it to a vote?" Jack suggested.

The pirates sighed, but just to go along with Jack, they all said who they voted for. And of course, all of the pirates voted for themselves. That is, until they got to Jack.

"Captain Swan," he said, a smirk on his face.

The other pirates were immediately outraged, but there was absolutely nothing they could do anyway. Elizabeth Swan was the new king, and that was that.

"Screw the code!" And with those words, that pirate was shot.

"You must honor the code."

* * *

The fight between the pirates and the military, and Davey Jones' crew, began. Everyone was fighting everyone, and hardly anyone knew who was on their side. Everyone was on a different ship, and thank God for everyone having specific clothing, otherwise they would probably just end up killing each other.

At the moment, Sora and Riku were on Davey Jones' ship, while Kairi was back with Will and Elizabeth. Of the ships, being over with them was safest, which was why Sora and Riku wanted Kairi over there. They were over on the more dangerous ship for a mission – to get the heart of Davey Jones. They knew Jack was on the ship somewhere, since they had all arrived together, but the second they had gotten there, Jack was running and Riku and Sora were fighting.

"Jack would," Sora sighed, before hitting one of the military men.

"And we're on his side _why_?" Riku asked sarcastically, fighting back against one of Davey Jones' crew.

"Because he's just so cool," Sora replied, sticking his tongue out at his best friend, before getting back to business and fighting the militia and other pirates.

"Would ya' rather these, or the Heartless and Nobodies?" Riku asked Sora, dodging a sword.

"Heartless and Nobodies," Sora said immediately, jumping to escape a blow. "Somehow, they seem easier than humans."

Riku laughed. "I was thinking the same thing."

And the two were immersed in their battles, fighting one after one after one, and sometimes even two on one. There were many foes, and Riku and Sora fought through them like professionals, although probably not as well as they would have fought Heartless. Something was just strange about fighting a human.

"I wonder why there aren't any Heartless here," Sora spoke.

"Maleficent must not want this world," Riku replied, punching one of the militia in the face.

"We still gotta' find the true keyhole."

"Yeah," Riku nodded, looking to Sora for a moment, before jumping in to take off one of the two Sora was fighting. "We should probably deal with these guys first, though."

Sora suddenly noticed Davey Jones, his eyes widening. He'd yet to see Davey Jones up close, and looking at him now, it was like his fantasies from when he was younger come to life. His younger days of being fascinated by pirates, and of course, Davey Jones was included. However, he had to quickly snap out of his memory, and soon glared over at Jones, knowing he was a huge cause of this whole problem.

"Davey Jones!" someone yelled.

That caught just about everyone's attention, including Sora and Riku's, and as everyone looked, they noticed Will Turner standing at the edge of the ship, before immediately going after the cursed pirate himself.

And once again the fighting began.

"Will!" Sora yelled, fighting off a militia man to go after Will to try and help him. Riku did the same as he chased down Sora, making sure that Sora would be safe. He had to fight off a number of men actually, but somehow, it was even easier before.

Suddenly, Sora stopped as he noticed something rather peculiar, but then Riku's larger body slammed into his back, making the two topple over each other. Sora landed on his back, while Riku landed on top of him – chest to chest.

"Oww," Sora muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry," Riku murmured, though not exactly getting off of Sora. He couldn't, actually. He was too entranced by the body beneath his. And in an instant, Riku actually forgot where they were. Riku forgot that they were in the middle of a battle between pirates, and instead, focused completely on the love of his life being beneath him. Chest to chest, crotch to crotch and only God could know how much Riku wanted it to be lips to lips.

"Err, Riku? Are you okay?"

Riku finally snapped out of it and shook his head, before immediately getting off of his best friend. He let his arm drop towards Sora, and Sora hastily grabbed the welcoming hand.

"You okay?" he asked again.

"Fine," he said. "Come on."

The two were once again fighting, before they suddenly heard a scream.

"Now what did we miss?" Sora asked, an annoyed expression on his face. "I feel like we're missing everything."

As the two ran in the direction of the scream, their eyes widened as they came across what they saw. Will, stabbed in the chest, with Elizabeth right next to him. And on the other side of Will, was Jack, his hand around Will's, and Will's hand was around a knife that was stabbing the heart of Davey Jones.

"Time to go!" Jack said, immediately grabbing onto Elizabeth and running off.

But of course, Elizabeth wasn't having that. "No! Will!" she screamed.

"Time to go, Sora," Riku said, grabbing his hand and immediately running after Jack.

"But, Will..." he said, though he did run with Riku, sneaking a look back at Will and seeing Davey Jones' crew surrounding Will. "I hope he'll be okay."

"Oh don't worry, he will be," Jack shouted, before they all easily switched over back onto the Black Pearl.

Soon after, Davey Jones' ship sunk into the ocean, Elizabeth screaming after Will, and Jack holding onto her to make sure she didn't jump to try and follow him.

"There's still Beckett to deal with," one of the pirates announced, and it was like a light bulb went off in everyone's head.

"Oh, yeah..." Sora muttered, although his voice was soft and almost sad. Well, he just lost someone he considered a good friend, so how could he not be sad?

"They're rounding on us."

"We'll go forward!"

"Their canons are much stronger than ours!"

"Then we'll die trying!"

Riku and Sora immediately looked at each other, while Kairi looked at them as well. None of them liked the idea of 'die trying', especially because they had other things they still needed to do back in other worlds. They refused to die.

"Onward!" Barbosa shouted, and they did. They went after Beckett's ship, and got ready to set off the canons. Riku, Sora and Kairi got their keyblades and were ready to fight Beckett's crew.

But suddenly, it all changed. Another ship came right out of the sea, ending up on the other side of Beckett. It was the ship of Davey Jones – or more precisely now, William Turner.

The Black Pearl and Flying Dutchman attacked Beckett's ship together, their canons going off simultaneously. He didn't stand a chance.

And in the end, the trio wasn't even needed.

"Seems like they're doing just fine on their own," Sora remarked.

"There's no Heartless here at all," Riku said, nodding his agreement with Sora.

"And if there were, they'd be able to handle it no problem."

Within a matter of seconds, Riku's and Sora's blades began to vibrate on their own, and soon lifted on their own as well.

"The keyhole?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Sora and Riku said together. And suddenly, they were once again being pulled by their keyblades, only unlike in Twilight Town where nothing actually happened, they were being lifted, before immediately being pulled into the ocean.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi yelled after her friends, watching them being pulled down.

"They'll be alright," Jack said to Kairi, suddenly appearing behind her.

She smiled softly. "I know."

"Well, aren't you smart," he remarked.

The keyblades glowed when they touched again, and the same beam of light from before appeared, as did a keyhole at the bottom of the ocean. And with the passing of the light into the keyhole, a great locking noise was heard.

_Another hole locked_, Sora thought to himself, grinning as he looked over at Riku.

Riku was grinning as well.

And just like Twilight Town, their bodies began to glow as their keyblades disappeared. They figured Kairi's body was probably glowing as well, and they were suddenly floating up and eventually out of the water.

"Guess we won't be able to say goodbye to Will," Sora said sadly, looking around to see if he could find his friend.

"Where's Kairi?" Riku asked.

"Up here!" she called, and both boys looked up and saw Kairi slightly above them. "This was a cool world," she said, smiling her soft grin.

"Yeah," Sora said, a sad smile on his face as nodded. "I'm gonna' miss it."

Riku's eyes were glued to Sora's face, although he knew Sora didn't notice. He hated seeing his best friend sad, but what could he do? These were all Sora's friends, so naturally he would be the saddest to see them go.

"We'll back, Sora. You know that," Riku said, attempting to cheer him up.

"I know," he said, sighing. "But...I just...I feel like maybe we won't."

"But we w_ill_," Riku told him, looking straight into Sora's eyes. "I promise."

Sora looked up into Riku's eyes, before his bright Sora smile was back on his face. "Thanks, Riku."

* * *

**Author's Note: I apologize for this terrible chapter. You can consider it more as a filler? It was more just to add another world into the mix. The next chapter, though, will have a better 'moment' for Riku and Sora, I promise! So please bare with me here.**


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